Star Wars: Evolution 4 ~ A New Hero
by Moonchampion
Summary: It's the classic Star Wars tale with an Evolution twist. The Sapien Empire has created a powerful weapon, Asteroid M, which they will use to crush the Rebel Resistance. Only a Handful of unlikely heroes can save mutantkind now.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

**Dedication:  _This story is dedicated to a special friend and fellow fan of Star Wars and X-Men: Evolution, and without her help and support this would not have been possible.  Tina, my friend, this one's for you._**

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**Star Wars: Evolution IV**

**A New Hero**

By

Moonchampion

_Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away there was peace between both humans and mutants. The time of harmony rang true for members of both species. However, like all things, the time of peace came to an end._

_A bold new force made itself known to the universe, attempting to eradicate any and all evidence of the Human-Mutant Confederation. Now, there only exists a handful of Rebels that stand against this new Empire._

_The Sapien Empire is now pursuing a ship that contains a stolen copy of the plans for the Empire's newest weapon, Asteroid M, which will possess the power to destroy any mutant colony. Princess Wanda is aboard the ship, attempting to get the plans of Asteroid M back to her allies in the Mutant Rebel Force._

            The large ship soared through the darkness of space pursuing the smaller convoy. Green blasts of lasers arched across the path of the convoy as it tried its best to elude the massive ship. Suddenly, it seemed that the convoy's luck had run out as one of the laser blasts found their mark by hitting one of the main engines. The convoy began to slow and was soon about to be overtaken by the Empire's star cruiser.

Aboard the convoy, the members of the crew scrambled about the decks rushing to their posts. Amidst the chaos, two figures stood out. One of them was Diplomatic-Relations officer Roberto DaCosta. The other was Rictor-Level 2 Assistant Lance Alvers. The two watched as the members of the crew scrambled around them, answering the calls of the ship's klaxon.

"My word, Lance," began Roberto, "it seems that things are really bad. What are we going to do? If the Empire takes this ship, we'll be prisoners. If we're lucky, we'll just be reassigned to posts within the empire."

Lance frowned at hearing Roberto's voice. "Will you knock it off?! I can't stand to hear you keep crying about it like a pansy! Soak it up will ya!" Lance tapped the side of his helmet as a single light flashed on the corner of his screen. He immediately began to ignore Roberto's whining and focused on the light flashing on his screen. He turned off the main corridor leaving Roberto there alone.

"Lance! Wait! Don't leave me here!" Roberto turned to follow Lance. "I can't believe I'm following this guy. I mean, he's walking around with a fishbowl over his head while the Empire is trying to overtake this ship." Roberto continued through the hallway, which he had seen Lance step through. "Lance! Lance! Where are you?"

Most of the members of the ship's security had gathered up their blasters and positioned themselves at the airlock entrance. It would only be a matter of time before the Imperial troopers tried to storm their ship, and they planned to be ready. The kneeled into position and took aim at the door. They were determined not to let anyone get by them. Suddenly, it happened, and the door was ripped from view.

The convoy's security officers began firing their weapons at the new opening. Within seconds, blaster fire was returned as Imperial storm troopers exploded into view from the opening. Men fell on both sides as they continued to fire at each other. However, the tide soon changed. The guns belonging to the convoy's security forces were immediately removed from their hands without explanation. The men watched in awe as their own weapons hovered high above their heads. It wasn't long before the Imperial storm troopers took advantage of the situation.

The storm troopers fired their weapons at the unarmed men. In less than a minute the resistance was over, and the convoy's security officers were all dead. The storm troopers stepped further onto the convoy ship. One of the officers up ahead turned around to his commanding officer. "All clear, sir," he said.

Then, from the doorway, stepped another figure out of the shadow. He was tall and wrapped within a dark purple cape. He had a red helmet, which trimmed all but a small portion of his face. He stepped onto the convoy, and the troopers immediately came to attention. The commanding trooper stepped into view. "Lord Magneto, the plans for Asteroid M have not been downloaded into the ship's computer," he reported.

"They have not had the opportunity to transmit the data," said Lord Magneto. "Their frequencies were jammed. Find all the passengers aboard the ship and bring them to me alive. One of them must have the plans." The storm trooper nodded and began issuing orders to his troops to continue searching the ship.

            Roberto finally caught up with Lance. He found him at the end of the hallway speaking to a girl in a white dress. She pressed a button on the side of Lance's helmet, and instructed him to leave. She looked towards Roberto once, and then fled from sight. Roberto walked towards Lance.

            "And where have you been?" asked Roberto. "This isn't the time to be getting phone numbers! The ship has to be crawling with Imperial troops by now!"

            Lance scowled at Roberto. "Do you ever shut-up?" he asked. "Come on!"

            "Well, that was awfully rude," replied Roberto as he followed Lance. "If we get out of this, I'll be sure to report you so to your superior. You really need some anger management classes or something." Roberto continued down the hallway after Lance. However, he stopped in his tracks as Lance began entering a code on a panel. After he had finished, a door swished open, and there was an escape pod with two seats.

            "You coming?" asked Lance.

            "Are you crazy?! If we're caught in that thing, we'll be destroyed!" protested Roberto.

            "Then I suggest you burn off some of that solar radiation of yours to distort their sensor readings," said Lance as he took his seat inside the escape pod.

            "There's no way that I'm getting into that thing," said Roberto.

            Lance simply shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Suit yourself."

            Suddenly, the two teens heard a pair of footsteps heading in their direction. Lance looked back up at Roberto, with a smile. Roberto sighed, and instantly, his skin turned black and small bits of flames stood on top of his skin. "Slide over," said Roberto as he climbed into the escape pod. With both of them now inside, the door slid shut, and the escape pod fired off to safety.

            Princess Wanda slid along the wall with her back against it, and a blaster of her own in her hand. She looked around the corner. The coast was clear. Just as she was about to leap out of side, a pair of storm troopers saw her. "There's one," said one of the troopers. He raised his blaster to fire at her. Wanda raised her hand, and her very own green hex energy began to glow around her hand. As the man fired his blaster, it exploded in his hand, sending him crashing against the wall. Wanda fired a few blasts at the other trooper, and then turned to run. The second trooper raised his blaster and fired a stun pulse. The pulse hit Princess Wanda, and she fell to the ground unconscious.

            Aboard the Imperial Star Cruiser, one of the technicians at his post cried out to his commanding officer. "Admiral Darkholme! Admiral Darkholme!" A woman with white flesh and a brown hair turned her attention to the technician. She walked over to his station. "Admiral, we've detected an escape pod being jettisoned from the convoy. We aren't reading any life signs though. Should we destroy it?"

            "No," she said. "If there are no life signs, then it is a waste of time!"

            "But Admiral," began the technician.

            Admiral Darkholme reached down and pulled the young man out of his seat. "I gave you a direct order, Lieutenant! Do not make me repeat myself!"

            "Yes, ma'am," said the technician. Admiral Darkholme released her grip on the young man, and he quickly slumped back into his seat.

            Admiral Darkholme sighed as she turned around to face her first officer. "Captain Daniels, accompany me to the convoy." Admiral Darkholme turned to the technician she had grabbed earlier. "Keep me informed of any changes," she said. Captain Evan Daniels nodded in acknowledgement as Admiral Darkholme turned on her heel, and together, they headed for the door leading to the ship's elevator.

            The pair of storm troopers headed back towards the entrance escorting a young woman wearing a white dress with long dark hair. Lord Magneto turned to see the prisoner that they were escorting. The young woman wasted no time to make her feelings known to her captors.

            "Well, Lord Magneto," she began, "I should have known that you were behind this. I demand to know what the meaning of this is. This convoy was on a mission of peace!"

            "You are lying, Princess Wanda," hissed Magneto. "We intercepted the transmission between this ship and a group of rebel spies. We know that you are apart of the rebellion. There is no use in denying it. Now, where are the stolen plans?"

            "I have no idea, what you're talking about," replied Wanda.

            "We will see," said Lord Magneto. "Take her to a holding cell." The troopers nodded as they began to escort Wanda aboard the ship. As they entered, they walked past Admiral Darkholme and Captain Daniels.

            "You realize it's dangerous to keep her," said Admiral Darkholme.

            "There is no need to fear her," said Magneto. "Her powers have been neutralized by a stun pulse. She is no threat any longer. We will keep her powers suppressed while she is being held. Report."

            "Nothing has been found, sir," said Captain Daniels. "In fact, the only thing that was remotely out of the ordinary was a jettisoned escape pod. However, there were no life signs aboard."

            Lord Magneto turned to face the young officer. "Begin tracking the pod's trajectory. It is possible that the life signs aboard the pod were masked. In the meantime, tear this ship apart and begin interrogation. I want those plans found!" Lord Magneto turned and headed back towards the ship. Captain Daniels brought his hand up to his forehead and saluted Lord Magneto as he returned to the star cruiser. Once he passed, Captain Daniels dropped his salute, and turned to Admiral Darkholme.

            "You can oversee things from here," she said. "Once your search is complete, return to the ship, and report directly to me. At that point, we will destroy this… vessel. We have no further use for it." Captain Daniels nodded and saluted Admiral Darkholme as she too turned and headed back towards the Imperial star cruiser.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Seeking the Legend

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

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Seeking the Legend

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part II)

By

Moonchampion

The intense heat and the sandy dunes of the planet Mutoone proved to be quite an obstacle for Lance and Roberto. The teens used all of their energy to pull themselves across the massive desert. After hours of trekking under the hot sun, the boys reached a point where they began to see things differently.

"I can't believe I've been following you for this long!" said Roberto. "Where are you going?"

"I'm on a mission," said Lance. "Now, come on. I think we should go this way."

"Wait a minute. A mission?" said Roberto. "What kind of mission are you on? We're walking around in the middle of a desert… it's over a hundred degrees out here… and you're telling me you're on a mission? Do you really know where you're going?"

Lance sighed. "I said that I think we should go this way," said Lance pointing to his left. 

"You think? You think?!" said Roberto. Lance nodded. "I don't believe this." Roberto threw his hands in the air. "I'm going this way." Roberto pointed in the opposite direction. Lance threw up his hands and started to walk in the direction he had pointed, leaving Roberto behind. Roberto watched as Lance continued on his way. "Go ahead! And you'd better take off this fishbowl before you drown in your own sweat!" cried Roberto. The young tee then turned and headed in the direction he had pointed at.

"Irene! Irene!" called a gruff voice as the large man stumbled down the stairs. In the kitchen, washing dishes was a tall thin woman with dark hair. Dark glasses covered her eyes as she used her hands to find the stack of dishes and washed them under the running faucet. "Irene, where is he?"

The woman turned around to face the voice with a smile. "Cain, he's only a boy. You can't expect him to work all day. He deserves to have a little fun."

Cain sighed. "There's work to be done around here, Irene, and the boy needs to learn to take some responsibility around here."

"Cain," began Irene, "it's just a few hours." Cain groaned as he turned and headed out the door. He wouldn't argue with his wife, Irene. In fact, in all the years he had known here, he had never been able to do it. There was just something about here that made it impossible.

Roberto continued to cross the dunes. Eventually, he found himself on the verge of collapse. Then, he heard a low hum in the distance. He turned around to see a large land transport hovering over the dunes. As the transport got closer, it began to slow until coming to a complete stop a few meters from Roberto.

The door slowly opened, and slowly a shadowed figure emerged. When he stepped into the light, Roberto was able to see that he had dark skin, black hair, and a pair of goggles over his eyes. He walked closer to Roberto, smiled and began examining his outfit. He placed his hands on Roberto's arm and marveled over the design of his uniform.

Growing annoyed at simply being a spectacle Roberto pulled his arm away from the young man. "Excuse me sir," said Roberto, "but may I ask what the purpose is for this… this examination."

The young man chuckled at Roberto's statement. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just seem to get carried away when it comes to seeing just about anything that I haven't seen before." The young man reached to his side and pulled out a canteen. He offered to Roberto, who quickly took it and began drinking the water after offering a nod of thanks. As small stream of water trickled down the side of his face the young man cleared his throat.

"My name is Forge, by the way," he introduced himself. "You know, this is not exactly the kind of place where you can take a midday stroll. If the sun doesn't get you… there are bandits in these parts that will." Roberto took the can of water down from his mouth and wiped the remaining trickles of water away. "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

Roberto nodded and followed Forge back to his land transport. As they reached the opening, Roberto saw another figure he had recognized. "I don't believe it! Lance!"

Lance looked up and scoffed with a bit of annoyance. "Oh, it's you."

Forge stepped up behind Roberto, still with a smile on his face. "So, you two no each other?" asked Forge.

"Unfortunately," said Lance.

"Well, that's neat," said Forge. "Why don't you guys make yourselves comfortable? I've got a few deliveries to make. Perhaps I can drop you somewhere along the way that is at least close to where you're heading." Lance and Roberto settled themselves in their seats as Forge started up the transport and started on his way.

Irene was still in the kitchen. She had finished washing dishes, and was now starting on dinner. As she began to set the table, she suddenly had an image flash within her mind. She could see flames engulfing her house. The image was immediately replaced with the image of a cloaked figure with a helmet. However, he wasn't alone, someone else was there. Someone younger… whom he was fighting… it was…. "Pietro!" cried Irene.

The dish in her hand slipped from her grasp and began to fall to the floor. There was a gust of wind within the kitchen as the plate came to a halt only a few inches from the floor. A young boy, with white hair, had managed to catch the plate before it shattered on the floor. He looked up at the blind woman and took her hand.

"Aunt Irene, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," she said as Pietro helped her to the table where she took a seat. Pietro looked at her. She could sense the boy's concern and began to smile. "I'm fine, really, Pietro. Why don't you go and help you're Uncle Cain. The Tinkerer will be arriving soon with the supplies for this week."

Pietro looked at his aunt for a few seconds. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked once again.

"I'm fine. Now, go," she said. "You know how restless your uncle can be sometimes." Pietro nodded, stood up and headed outside. Irene then turned and grasped the table. She had seen a glimpse of what was to come… of the future. And it did not look bright.

"Uncle Cain! The Tinkerer's here!" called Pietro as the large land transport came to a stop. The door open and Forge stepped out with a smile on his face. "Hello, Forge. What have you got for us this time?"

Forge walked to the back of his transport. It opened, and inside was tons of variety of farming equipment. "I've got some droid units. Their memories have been erased, and I've got all the programs your uncle will need. All he has to do is download the program… instant workers."

Uncle Cain had stepped into view with a grim expression on his face. "I told you once before… no droids," said Cain. He looked at Pietro. "Look at you boy… hardly any muscle. That's the problem with you kids today… you're scared of hard work. Want droids to solve all of your problems."

Forge smiled and walked back around to the front of his transport. "Well, I do have something you may be more receptive to," said Forge. "Hey guys! Come on out!" After a few seconds, two young men appeared out of the transport. "These guys here are looking for work. They claim to be new to the planet. Think you got a job for them?"

Cain eyed the pair suspiciously for a moment. "Come on, Uncle Cain," pleaded Pietro. "Harvest will be coming up in a few weeks. We could really use the help." Cain growled before finally agreeing. "Excellent. Come with me you two, I'll show you your quarters." Lance and Roberto exchanged looks with each other before following young Pietro back to their quarters.

Pietro led Lance and Roberto into a small cabin outside the main house. "Here you go," said Pietro. "I hope you'll find everything okay."

"I'm sure it will be fine Master Pietro," said Lance. "Forgive me, where are my manners. My name is Roberto DaCosta, Diplomatic Relations. And this is Lance Alvers, Rictor-Level 2 Assistant." Roberto took Pietro's hand and shook it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," said Pietro as he shook hands with Roberto. He then turned towards Lance with his hand extended.

"Up yours, Bleach boy," said Lance as he pushed Pietro's hand away.

"Lance! There's no need to be rude!" shouted Roberto. Lance merely waved his hand in annoyance. He took off his glass helmet and placed it on a table as he sat in a chair. Once he sat it down, something on the helmet activated, and a holographic image began to be projected from it. It was the image of a young girl with a white dress.

"You must help us Weather Goddess. You're our only hope. You must help us Weather Goddess. You're our only hope," said the hologram.

"Who is she?" asked Pietro.

"She's none of your business," said Lance. He quickly grabbed his helmet and shut off the projector.

"Lance!" cried Roberto. "Master Pietro has taken us into his home. You could show a little more courtesy."

Lance frowned and looked towards Pietro. "I'm on a mission. I have to play the rest of this recording for the Weather Goddess."

Pietro arched his eyebrow. "The Weather Goddess. I've never heard of her. However, there is a lady that lives a few miles from here. A lot of people believe her to be some sort of shaman. They even say that she can control the weather. In fact, since she arrived here years ago, there hasn't been a bad crop season. Perhaps she can help you find the Weather Goddess you're looking for."

"Where is she?" asked Lance.

"I'll take you there," said Pietro. Here name is Ororo Munroe."

Lance turned to face Roberto who simply returned the gaze with an 'I told you so' gaze. Lance scoffed and turned to face Pietro. "Lead the way," he said reluctantly.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	3. Secrets of the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

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Secrets of the Past

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part III)

By

Moonchampion

Pietro, Roberto and Lance cruised along the hot sand dunes of Mutoone in a land speeder that belonged to Pietro's uncle. The speeder hovered above the ground, and moved at incredibly fast speeds. Eventually, the boys found themselves coasting through mountainous terrain. After a going a few miles, Pietro stopped he land speeder, and the boys stepped out of the craft and began looking around.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lance asked Pietro as he observed the desolate surroundings.

"Yeah," began Pietro, "but no one has seen her for years. She generally likes to keep to herself." Lance scoffed at Pietro's explanation and began to move forward. Pietro started walking after Lance.

Roberto began to follow the other two when he suddenly found himself pushed to the ground. Roberto looked up to see a pair of paws on his chest. His eyes followed the paws to the wolf that now rested on his chest growling down at him, a bit of saliva beginning to drip from its mouth. "G-guys… help me," squeaked Roberto.

"That is enough, Rahne," said a soft voice. However, the wolf only leaned closer towards Roberto, who was now trembling with fear. "Rahne!" said the voice again, but the wolf didn't stop. Now, only mere centimeters away from Roberto's face the wolf opened its mouth and licked Roberto.

The wolf began to pant as it hopped off of Roberto's chest and walked over to her master. Its master was a tall dark-skinned woman with long white hair and blue eyes. The woman wore a black outfit, which was trimmed in gold along her waist and just below her elbows. She also wore white boots and a black cape that was lined with white on the inside. At her waist was a small thin cylinder. However, she quickly pulled her cloak close as she began to address the boys.

"Well, it seems Rahne likes you," said the woman to Roberto who was getting to his feet.

"Excuse me, are you Ororo Munroe, the Weather Goddess?" asked Pietro.

"Well, the Weather Goddess," said Ororo. A smile began to spread across her face. "What if I am?"

"Then we need your help," interrupted Lance. "Please! Princess Wanda is in grave danger! She's been captured by the Empire."

Ororo watched Lance and turned her attention back to Pietro and then to Roberto. "Come inside," said Ororo. "And please, I would prefer if you were to call me Storm. After all, I am no goddess." The boys nodded and began to follow Storm as she led them on their way.

Roberto kept his eye on the wolf as he walked by. "Uh, nice dog," said Roberto.

Storm stopped and looked back at Rahne and Roberto as he watched her. "Yes, I think she likes you."

"Really?" asked Roberto.

Suddenly, the hair on the wolf began to shrink up, and the wolf began to stand upright on its two hind legs. Roberto and the others watched in awe, as the wolf became a girl with short red hair on top of her head. She smiled at the others, and then took a step towards Roberto. "Yeah, really. You're kinda cute," she said.

Storm chuckled a bit as she Rahne step up close to Roberto. "Come along you two," she said as she continued on their way towards her home. After a few minutes, Storm led Pietro and the others to her home. Once inside, Storm turned to Rahne. "Prepare some tea for our guests." Rahne nodded and headed towards the kitchen, glancing once again at Roberto as she left. Storm took a seat and looked at her guests.

"Now," she began, "tell me about Princess Wanda."

Lance stepped forward and activated the holographic projector in his helmet. A few seconds later, a miniature holographic representation of Princess Wanda stood on the floor looking in Ororo's direction.

"Weather Goddess," began the holographic Wanda, "years ago you aided my father in the Genetic Wars. Now, he desperately needs your help again. The Empire has created a new weapon called Asteroid M. It has unimaginable power that will allow the Empire to destroy and enslave all mutants. The plans for Asteroid M are within Lance's helmet along with this recording. It is imperative that these plans reach the Rebels on Albutgon, so that Asteroid M can be destroyed. You must help us Weather Goddess. You're our only hope."

The holographic image faded and Storm turned to face Lance. "Well, it seems that there is little choice in the matter. I will aid you in your quest." Storm turned to face Pietro. "Hmm, I can see you are very much like your father."

Pietro turned to face Storm. "You knew my father?!" he asked.

"Of course," answered Storm. "We fought side by side during the Genetic Wars." Storm rose from her seat, walked to the corner and came back with a small wooden case. She opened it up and Pietro saw a small silver cylinder, like the one around her waist. "He wanted you to have this. It is a lightsaber, the weapon of an Alpha Mutant, those mutants that are highly attuned with the X-Factor gene."

"You mean my father was an Alphi Knight?" asked Pietro. "But my uncle said that he was only a pilot."

Storm chuckled softly. "Your uncle always thought that your father should have stayed here on Mutoone." 

"How did my father die?" asked Pietro.

"A young Alphi Knight, called Magneto who was a dear friend of mine turned evil, and helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the other Alphi Knights. He betrayed and killed your father. The Alphis are now almost extinct because of Magneto's seduction by the dark side of the X-Factor." Storm looked at Pietro as he took the lightsaber into his hands and began to study it. "You are going to have to learn how to use that if you're going to accompany me to Albutgon."

"What?! I can't go to Albutgon with you!" said Pietro. "Uncle Cain would kill me! In fact, he'll kill me anyway for skipping my chores for the day." Storm sighed as Pietro explained. "I can take you to the city so that you can find a pilot, but that's it." Storm nodded. "And thank you… for telling me about my father.

Storm smiled and rose to her feet. "Rahne, mind the home until I return. I shouldn't be more than a few days." The young girl nodded and smiled at Roberto once again as he exited the home along with Storm, Pietro and Lance.

Pietro piloted the land speeder over the dunes of the Planet Mutoone towards his own home. As they got closer, Pietro noticed a large cloud of smoke in the air in the distance. "I wonder where all that smoke is coming from," said Pietro.

Lance looked off into the distance. He pressed a few of the control panels on his helmet. He was able to zoom in on the source of the smoke. He swallowed, and then turned towards Pietro. "It's coming from your home," said Lance softly. "It's been… destroyed."

Pietro's eyes widened in shock. He looked back at Lance to make sure that he had heard him correctly. The expression on Lance's face showed him that he wasn't mistaken. Pietro increased the speed of the land speeder until they approached the ruins of his old home. He brought the speeder to a stop and hopped out. He dashed over to the charred remains of his home, the building he had grown up in with the only parents he'd ever known.

"Aunt Irene! Uncle Cain!" called Pietro. Pietro and the others searched for some time. However, all they managed to find was broken equipment and farm vehicles. Storm stepped forward, and raised her hands into the air. Dark clouds rolled into view, flashing with lightning with in. A strong gale of rain poured onto the burning house dousing the flames. Once the flames had diminished, Pietro could see that his search was over. Inside the remains of his home, he saw a pair of charred skeletons, one large and the other much smaller. Both intertwined together, as if they had been holding each other until the very end.

Pietro felt a hand grasp his shoulder sympathetically. "Come Pietro," said Storm softly. "There is nothing you could have done. If you had been here, they would have killed you too." Pietro turned to face Storm. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was telling truth. The tears began to cloud his vision as he turned and headed back towards the land speeder.

A few hours later, Pietro piloted the land speeder into the city. The city was now crawling with Imperial storm troopers. Pietro frowned at the sight of the troopers. One of them flagged down Pietro's land speeder and approached them with weapons drawn.

"I need to see your credentials," said the storm trooper.

Storm looked at the soldier and offered a gentle smile. "You don't really need to see his credentials do you? The boy isn't worth your time… is he?"

The soldier slowly nodded his head in agreement. "I don't need to see the boy's credentials. He isn't worth my time. Go ahead," said the soldier as he waved them through. Pietro smiled and turned towards Storm when they were out of earshot.

"Was that an Alphi mind trick?" he asked.

"No, only telepaths can do that," said Storm. "That was simply feminine charm." Storm winked at Pietro as the land speeder moved on through the streets of the city.

A few minutes later Storm led Pietro, Lance and Roberto into a bar. The bartender behind the bar quickly took notice of them. "I apologize gentlemen, and fair lady," he began, "but we do honor a dress code in this establishment." Pietro and the others exchanged looks. "I'm afraid that your friend, the one with the helmet, will have to wait outside."

Lance shook his head. "I don't believe this! I'm catching grief about a dress code from a guy with blue fur in his underwear!"

"Just wait outside. Okay Lance?" said Pietro.

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Lance. "Come on, match stick. You're with me!" Roberto was about to protest, but Lance quickly pulled him outside before he could manage to say a word.

Storm and Pietro walked up to the bar. Storm turned to Pietro. "Wait here," said Storm. She walked over to the other side of the bar and sat down next to a smaller young man. He appeared to have blue fur as well. However, unlike the bartender, this one also had a tail. He appeared more demonic, where the bartender looked monstrous… if there was a difference.

Pietro turned to the bartender. "Hello, welcome to Beasty McCoy's. What type of beverage can I get you?" said McCoy, the bartender, with a toothy smile.

"Uh, I'll just have water," said Pietro.

"The smile disappeared from McCoy's face as he heard the order. "Oh, one of those, eh? Are you sure I couldn't interest you in something more… exotic?" Pietro shook his head. Annoyed with the order, McCoy went off to fetch Pietro's drink. He came back shortly and placed a glass down in front of Pietro.

The glass was filled with water; however it was anything but clear. The water was brown and had small chunks of mud and small bits of grass floating in it. Pietro raised his hand to catch McCoy's attention before walking off. "Uh, excuse me, but… I think there's something in my water."

McCoy arched his eyebrow and examined the glass. "I don't see anything," he replied.

Pietro's eyes widened. "Uh, the water is brown," said Pietro.

"Of course it is. It's mineral water," answered McCoy. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have paying customers to attend to." With that, McCoy left Pietro with his glass of "mineral water."

"You're in my seat kid," said a tall young man with blonde hair. Pietro looked up. The man wasn't alone; he had two others with him. "I said you're in my seat."

"I'm sorry," said Pietro.

"Hey Duncan, how bout we teach this loser not to take other people's seats," said one of the men with him.

Suddenly, Ororo stepped back into view. "Please, gentlemen, this boy isn't worth your trouble. Please, allow us to buy you some drinks, for your trouble." Ororo turned to face the bartender. As she did so, Duncan picked up Pietro and tossed him onto a table. The table broke under his weight and crashed to the floor.

Storm instantly raised her hand. A bolt of lightning hit one of the men accompanying Duncan in the chest. The man went flying back, crashing to the floor. Storm swiped her hand through the air blowing the other man across the room, and against the wall by the door with a gust of wind. Duncan had drawn a laser pistol and was about to fire at Pietro. "So long, loser," said Duncan.

In less than a second a streak of blue crosses over the nozzle of the pistol. The end of it falls to the floor, and the blue light immediately appears below Duncan's chin. His eyes slowly turn to Storm, her lightsaber resting very close to the young man's chin. The sweat dripped from his chin, on to the lightsaber. Having tortured the boy enough, Storm raised her hand, and a gust of wind blew Duncan out the door and onto the street.

Storm hit a button on the lightsaber, and the blue blade of light disappeared back into the cylinder. Storm turned around and helped Pietro up. "Are you all right?" Pietro nodded. "Good." Storm turned towards the short man with the blue fur and tail. He was wearing a jumpsuit with a red V pattern on his chest, as well as a belt with many pouches across his chest. "This is Kurt Wagner. He's the first-mate and chief mechanic of the ship that may suit our needs. Come on."

TO BE CONTINUED…


	4. Band of Scoundrels

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Band of Scoundrels

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part IV)

By

Moonchampion

Storm and Pietro sat at the table across from first-mate, Kurt Wagner, and ship pilot, Scott Summers. Scott Summers leaned forward as he examined Storm and Pietro. Scott was a tall young man with brown hair and a little stubble on his chin. Over his eyes he wore a yellow visor with a red ruby quartz lens. He smiled as he began to speak to his potential customers.

"Well," began Scott, "Kurt tells me that you're looking for passage on a fast ship from here to Albutgon, and you'd prefer to elude the Empire at the same time. Is that right?" Storm nodded. Scott smiled. "Well, my friend you've found the right ship. The Blackbird can get you there in no time, and without detection."

Storm and Pietro exchanged a look, but remained silent. "Haven't you heard of the Blackbird before?" asked Scott.

"Should we have?" said Pietro.

Scott sighed and turned to Kurt. "I don't believe this. My friend, the Blackbird is the fastest ship there is. It has no equal, and there isn't a ship that can keep up with it. Trust me. You're in good hands."

"Good," said Pietro. "How much will it cost?"

"Since I'm hiding you from the Empire," said Scott, "at least 10,000 credits."

"What?!" cried Pietro.

"Easy, Pietro," said Storm.

"Come on, Storm! We can buy a ship for that!" Pietro protested.

Storm turned to face Scott. "We'll give you 2,000 credits now. And 15,000 more when we reach Albutgon," she said.

"17,000 credits?" asked Scott. Storm nodded. "My friend you have yourself a deal." Scott reached over the table and shook Storm's hand. "The Blackbird is at port 94. We'll depart in three hours." Storm and Pietro nodded and slid out of the booth. Scott turned to Kurt.

"Go and prep the Blackbird," he ordered. "And tell Jean that we have some passengers that are paying us 10,000 credits to take them to Albutgon."

"Not again," said Kurt. "Vhen vill you learn man? You can't cheat a telepath. You know how mad she vas last time."

Scott frowned. "Fine. Tell her the truth. You and Kitty just make sure the Blackbird's primed for take off." Kurt nodded. Suddenly there was an explosion of brimstone, and Kurt had disappeared. Scott fanned the stench of brimstone away as his friend departed. Then, he looked across the table to find an unexpected visitor.

"Well, well, well," began Scott. "Blobba must be really upset to send you after me, huh Fury?"

The man had taken a seat across from Scott, a smile on his face. There was plenty of stubble across his chin, and he wore a patch over his eye. He stared across the table at Scott and smiled. "You're getting sloppy, Summers. The Gutt has had it. You double-crossed him, and now he wants your head, as well as Red."

Scott sighed. "Listen, I told Blobba that she'd talk to him. I didn't promise him a date."

"It's too late to cut a deal now, Summers," said Fury. "The Gutt has made his decision and had set the price on your head. And personally, I aim to collect."

Scott only smiled and shook his head. "Oh well, Fury, you might as well do what you have to do. Because I'm not going back to Blobba… dead or alive."

"Suit yourself, Summers," said Fury. He pulled out his laser pistol and aimed it Scott. "So long, Slim." Just as Fury was about to pull the trigger, his pistol zapped out of his hand towards a redhead standing at the end of the table. Fury's head snapped in her direction, and then back towards Scott.

"Good night, Fury," said Scott as an optic blast erupted from his eyes and hit Fury in the chest. Fury slumped over onto the table unconscious. Scott stood up and looked at the young redheaded woman. "Could you have cut it any closer, Jean?"

"You know me, Summers," she said, "I aim to please."

"So, we're back on a last name basis again, Grey?" asked Scott.

"For trying to cut me out of my share, you bet your ass we are," she answered.

Scott sighed. He looked at Jean. Her outfit was very similar to his. She was wearing black pants, long black boots, an open black vest, and a white long-sleeved shirt. It was the exact same uniform as Scott. On her side, she had a holster, where she slipped her newly acquired pistol. She turned to face Scott.

"Listen, whether you like it, or not," she said, "we are co-captains of the Blackbird. I expect you to start acting like it. Understood?" Scott simply raised his hands, signaling that he understood. "I'm serious, Summers. I'm not the type of girl you want to tick off!"

"I don't know about that, Grey," said Scott. "In my opinion, you look pretty hot when you're upset."

"You're hopeless, you know that," she said. "Come on." Scott and Jean turned and started for the door. Jean looked over at McCoy who was standing behind the bar looking at the mess. Jean raised her hand, and a few credits lifted themselves from Nick Fury's pocket. She moved her hand, and the credits floated over to McCoy. "For the damages." With that, the captains of the Blackbird left McCoy's, and headed for their ship.

Scott and Jean walked across the port towards the ramp of the Blackbird. Scott stopped before stepping on the ramp, and turned to Jean. "Check and make sure Kurt and Kitty have finished the pre-flight," he said. Jean looked down at him, frowning with disapproval. "Look, no tricks this time, okay. Our passengers will be arriving soon." Finally, Jean decided to accept his explanation and boarded the ship.

Scott turned around to see a large mass making his way across the port. He had several people with him… bounty hunters. The large mass was with out a doubt Blobba the Gutt. His entourage consisted of his faithful assistant Minister Tolansky, and two more of the deadliest bounty hunters: Sabretooth, and the infamous Wolverine. Fury also brought up the rear holding his head. He was probably still in pain from blast he took earlier.

"Get over here, Summers!" said Blobba as he took a bite out of a large sub sandwich.

"I've been wanting to see you, Blobba," said Scott.

"Yeah, I thought you would," said Blobba.

"I don't run away from anyone, or anything. You know that isn't my style," replied Scott.

Blobba stared at Scott for a moment, and then put his arm around Scott's shoulders. "Come on, Scott," said Blobba. Bits of the sandwich sprayed from his mouth as he spoke. "You said that you'd give me the hook-up with Jean! And you didn't have to beat up Fury like that either. Come on, we're all friends here."

"Blobba, you sent Fury to kill me," said Scott.

"Ah, come on. It was done out of love!" said Blobba. "I mean, your friend Jean hasn't called me yet. Fury was only expressing my concerns to you. I mean, I have a reputation to uphold. It'd be bad for business if I just let you get away with it."

"Blobba," began Scott, "if you send anymore of your goons after me, they're coming back to you in a box." Scott sighed. "Listen, just give me a little more time. Jean will call you. It's just she hates to set up dates and all while she's working. Once we finish this run, she'll be free."

Blobba turned around and looked at his entourage. Wolverine had unleashed the claws on his hand, and Sabretooth stood by ready to launch at Scott's throat. Fury had his other pistol trained on Scott's forehead. Minister Tolansky stood by watching in his dark robes, ready to hock a major loogie at Scott as well. Blobba lowered his hands, gesturing for his men to calm down. "Don't disappoint me again, Scott."

"Don't worry, Blobba," replied Scott. "You won't be disappointed." Blobba nodded. Then, he turned and led his entourage away. Scott shook his head. "Maybe if the fat fart tried a can of Slim-fast he wouldn't need my help." Scott turned around to see a head, with a brunette ponytail phasing through the belly of the Blackbird.

"Hey Scott," said the girl's head. "The pre-flight's done! We're ready to take off when the passengers get here."

"Thanks, Kitty," he replied. Then, he started aboard the ship to wait for Storm, Pietro and the others to show up.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	5. Through Means of Deception

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Through Means of Deception

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part V)

By

Moonchampion

"What a piece of crap!" said Pietro as he admired the interior of the Blackbird.

"Take a seat, Junior," said Scott as he strapped himself in. "This piece of crap is going to get you to Albutgon before you know it." Scott turned around towards Kitty. "Kitty, go and shut the port doors so that we can take off." Kitty nodded and headed towards the door.

"Hold it right there!" said a voice. Kitty looked out the door to see nearly a dozen Imperial soldiers running towards the Blackbird with blasters in their hands.

"Hey! We've got company!" she cried.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, Jean closed her eyes. She did a brief mental scan, and recognized their guests. She turned to Scott. "Imperial soldiers! It's time to move!"

"Oh, you think?" said Lance.

Jean turned around to glare at him. "Doesn't he come with an off switch?"

Jean scoffed and turned around, ignoring Lance. She activated the engines and turned to Scott. "We're ready for lift off." After a few seconds, the Blackbird began to lift off the ground, and began soaring into the sky. After a few moments, the Blackbird found itself floating in the blackness of space. Suddenly, the ship was rocked by a laser blast. "We're under attack! It's an Imperial star cruiser!"

"Wow!" said Lance. "I guess we know who the brain of the operation is around here." Roberto jabbed him in the arm with his elbow, but Lance ignored him. Jean removed her safety buckle and walked over in front of Lance. "Listen, you annoying walking fish tank! If you don't shut up right now, I'm gonna make it so that a sponge has a higher I.Q. than you. Do you understand?" Lance nodded. Jean returned to her seat.

Lance looked over at Roberto sitting beside him. "Y'know, I think she likes me." Roberto only rolled his eyes in disbelief.

The Blackbird continued to rock violently as the Star cruiser got closer. Scott and Jean worked the controls frantically, while Kurt and Kitty started making repairs mid-flight as conduits continued to blow. Pietro looked towards Storm, who was sitting in her seat patiently.

"I thought you said this thing was fast?" said Pietro.

"Bite me, kid," replied Scott. "Hang on. I've got a few maneuvers. We'll lose them. Don't worry." Scott executed the maneuvers with ease. And he managed to put the Blackbird out of firing range from the star cruiser. However, there was one variable he hadn't anticipated.

"Holy viener schnitzel!" cried Kurt. "There are two more star cruisers to our port! Ve're toast!"

"Perhaps now would be a good time to activate the hyper speed," suggested Storm.

"No kidding, lady," said Scott. "Everyone hang on!"

The star cruisers slowly moved into position to corner the Blackbird. Veering around wasn't an option either, because the first star cruiser was moving into position from the rear. Just as the star cruisers were about to fire, the Blackbird began to disappear in a blur of light. It had managed to go to hyper speed, and get to safety before the star cruisers were able to fire.

Lord Magneto watched as a pair of storm troopers escorted Princess Wanda into the Mapping Room. They had taken the precaution of securing her arms tightly with a straight jacket. This way she wouldn't be able to use her mutant powers, even if the stun pulse that neutralized her powers wore off.

"Ah, Princess Wanda," said Lord Magneto. "As I'm sure you know we were unable to find the stolen plans to Asteroid M aboard your ship. However, we have managed to track your messengers to the planet Mutoone. I assure you, this little gambit is over." Princess Wanda frowned as she looked up into Lord Magneto's dark eyes. Lord Magneto returned the gaze. "Do you know what our current location is?"

Princess Wanda only glared into the eyes of Lord Magneto. In her look, the hate and disgust were obvious. Suddenly, the door swished open and Admiral Darkholme stepped into the room accompanied by Captain Daniels. Lord Magneto looked over to Captain Daniels. "Captain, would you be so kind as to tell Princess Wanda Asteroid M's current position."

"Certainly, Lord Magneto," said Captain Daniels as he stepped forward. "Right now, we are currently in orbit around the planet Albutgon."

Princess Wanda's eyes widened once the location had been revealed. "What?"

"That's right, Princess," said Lord Magneto. "And unless you reveal to me the location of the Rebel base, Asteroid M will open fire on your home planet."

"I told you that I don't know anything about the Rebels. I have nothing to do with them," said Wanda.

"Admiral Darkholme, prepare to open fire Albutgon," ordered Lord Magneto.

"No!" cried Wanda.

"Then give me the coordinates, your highness," said Lord Magneto.

Wanda sighed and then turned her gaze to the floor. "The Rebel base is in the second planet in the Doopus system."

"Thank you, your highness," said Magneto. Then he turned towards Darkholme. "Admiral, destroy the planet!"

"No! You said you'd spare the planet!" cried Wanda.

"Isn't it obvious girl? He lied," taunted Admiral Darkholme. She looked towards the guards. Take her back to her cell. The guards seized Wanda by her arms, her restraints still tight. The guards pulled her out of the room. The viewer came to life on the far wall. Lord Magneto, along with Admiral Darkholme and Captain Daniels watched as the planet of Albutgon was destroyed by the firepower of Asteroid M.

Lord Magneto looked upon the destruction of the planet with satisfaction. He turned to Admiral Darkholme. "Send out scouts to scan the Doopus system and find the Rebel base. Once it is located I want it destroyed. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord Magneto," said Admiral Darkholme. She nodded in Magneto's direction, as did Captain Daniels. Then, the officers left the room to carry out their orders.

The Blackbird cruised through space at hyper speed. Everyone aboard seemed to be relieved that they had managed to survive their first obstacle of three star cruisers. Scott hopped out of his seat and turned around to face everyone. "Well, don't everyone say thanks at once," he said to them. Kitty and Kurt sprang from their seats and headed towards the rear of the Blackbird.

Jean got out of her seat, and pushed Scott out of the way. "I'll say thank you, Summers," began Jean. "After you finish repairs to the fuel line." Scott scoffed as she turned and started to move along. Suddenly, Jean fell to one knee. At the same time, Storm winced in pain and grabbed her head.

"Are you okay?" asked Pietro as he looked at Storm. Meanwhile, Scott had moved to Jean's side and was checking on her.

"I felt a great disturbance," said Storm. "Total chaos… then… nothing."

They turned to look at Jean who was now getting to her feat. "So many voices were crying out in fear… in pain. But, then… it just… stopped." Jean wrapped held her arms tightly as if she were cold. "I just have this… chill through out my body." Scott moved to put his hands on Jean, but she quickly moved her arms away from his hands, to avoid his touch. "I've got repairs to make." Jean quickly turned and left the cockpit.

Nearly an hour later, Scott entered the recreation cabin to see Kurt playing chess against Lance, with Kitty and Roberto as spectators. Lance made a move that ended up taking Kurt's night. Kurt was upset by the move, and started eyeing Lance as he muttered some German curses.

"Well, that's not very good sportsmanship," remarked Roberto. "It was a fair move! There's no need to get upset about it!"

Kitty watched the game from the opposite end with a smile. "It's not smart to upset a teleporter," she remarked, "especially, one that can teleport you out into the cold depths of space. And Kurt here has been known to be a sore loser and do that a few times."

Lance looked over at Kurt to find that the blue-furred boy was eyeing him now with an evil grin upon his face. He turned to face Roberto who looked at him sympathetically. "I suggest a new strategy, Lance." Lance faced his friend with a hint of hope. "Lose." Roberto's suggestion hadn't been what Lance was thinking.

"Wow, thanks a lot," replied Lance as he turned his attention back to the game.

Meanwhile, Scott had by passed the chest game and moved towards the rear of the ship and stood next to Jean. The two captains stood there watching as Pietro stood in the center of the room, with his father's lightsaber in his hand. A small drone hovered around the room firing stun blasts at him, while he tried to deflect them with the light blade of the lightsaber.

Several blasts erupted from the drone as it circled around Pietro. He didn't deflect any of the blasts, and two of them hit their mark in his rear. Scott snickered at the sight, and quickly felt Jean's elbow jab him in the ribs. Pietro grabbed his rear and massaged it a bit. "Ow! I can't do it, Storm!"

Storm stood up and walked over to the boy. "You must rely on the X-Factor within you. Open your mind to it, and let it guide your actions. An Alphi must be able to be led by the X-Factor, not just control his mutation."

"You've got to be kidding me," said Scott. "You wait around for the X-Factor to guide you in the middle of a fight, and you're as good as toast."

Storm turned away from Scott, and faced Pietro again. "Try again, Pietro. This time, I want you to use this." Storm took out a blindfold and wrapped it tightly around Pietro's eyes.

"But, Storm," Pietro said. "I can't see. How am I supposed to block the blasts now?"

"Let the X-Factor guide you," said Storm. Pietro sighed and raised his lightsaber. The hovering drone moved back into position, slowly circling Pietro. After a few seconds, the drone began to open fire. Pietro moved his lightsaber to block the drone's blast. The drone fired again, the interval becoming shorter and shorter after each blast. Yet, Pietro managed to block each blast. Within a few seconds, he was moving at a blurring speed. Eventually, the drone ceased, and Pietro ripped the blindfold from his face.

"I did it!" he cried excitedly. Storm and Jean smiled approvingly at Pietro.

Scott however scoffed at the sight. "It was nothing but luck." Jean looked at Scott and smiled. She sensed that he was now a believer after seeing what he had. He was, however, to arrogant to admit though. Scott heard a chime and checked his watch. "Looks like we're coming up on Albutgon." Jean and the others followed Scott as he walked back towards the cockpit. Kurt and Kitty were sitting in the pilot seats, but got up once Scott and Jean were there.

Captain Daniels burst into the conference room where Admiral Darkholme and Lord Magneto were talking. It was obvious that the young officer was upset. "She lied to us!" he cried. "There's no Rebel base anywhere in the Doopus system!"

"I suspected that she would not betray her Rebel allies so easily," replied Lord Magneto.

"Then, I suggest we terminate her… immediately!" said Admiral Darkholme.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	6. Unlikely Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Unlikely Rescue

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part VI)

By

Moonchampion

The Blackbird broke out of hyper speed to find itself in the middle of a meteor shower. Scott instantly activated the manual controls. He looked back towards Kurt who was checking his instruments, to make sure that they were in the right location.

"What's going on?" asked Pietro.

"This is the place," said Kurt.

"Yeah, but no Albutgon," added Kitty.

"I don't understand," said Pietro.

"It's been… destroyed," said Jean.

"What? How?" asked Pietro.

"Destroyed… by the Empire," said Storm.

Suddenly, the proximity alarm went off. Scott looked up and found and noticed something moving outside. "I don't believe it. A fighter! I'm going after it."

"Do you think it followed us?" asked Pietro.

"No, it's a short range fighter. That means, there's a mother-ship or base nearby," said Scott. He turned to Kurt. "Jam its transmissions. I don't want it telling anyone we're here. It looks like it's heading for that moon over there."

"That's no moon," corrected Storm. "It's a space station… it's Asteroid M."

"Okay, full reverse!" cried Jean.

"Too late!" said Kitty. "We're caught in the tractor beam! It's pulling us in!"

"Can't you do something?!" said Pietro.

"Sorry, kid, but there's nothing else we can do," said Scott. He stood up, and his visor glowed once. "But, I'm not going down without a fight."

Storm stood up and grabbed Scott's shoulder. He paused and looked at Storm. "I believe I may have an alternative," she said.

Captain Daniels smiled as a subordinate came to him with a message. Captain Daniels dismissed the subordinate and turned to face Admiral Darkholme and Lord Magneto with a smile. "Excellent news," reported Daniels. "It seems that we have captured the same freighter that eluded our forces at Mutoone."

"Excellent, Captain," said Admiral Darkholme. "Dispatch storm troopers to the hanger." Captain Daniels nodded and left his superiors. Admiral Darkholme turned to Lord Magneto. "It seems that we have them now. The Princess's messengers are bound to be aboard that ship."

"We shall see," said Lord Magneto. He turned and led Admiral Darkholme to the hanger. Upon their arrival, Lord Magneto made his way towards Captain Daniels. "Any sign of the messengers and the rest of the crew?"

"No sir," said Captain Daniels. "It seems that they jettisoned the escape pods. According to the hip logs, the crew abandoned ship shortly after take off."

Lord Magneto turned away from Captain Daniels to examine the ship. "I sense a familiar presence, as well as one I haven't felt before. One that is very strong." Lord Magneto turned around to face Captain Daniels. "Strip the ship apart. I want it searched properly."

"Of course, Lord Magneto," said Captain Daniels. Both Magneto and Admiral Darkholme turned and left the hanger. Captain Daniels called to his men. "Get a scanning crew aboard this vessel and search it properly." With in a few seconds, about four storm troopers came to the Blackbird's ramp. Two were carrying pulse rifles and the others were carrying scanning devices.

The pair with the scanning devices came aboard the ship and began looking through out the room. They walked through the corridors. For a moment, they each heard a chime, but it quickly faded. They looked at each other and moved on. Just before they stepped out view, they each felt an optic blast hit them in their backs, knocking them unconscious.

"Good idea using Jean's telepathy to fool the guards into thinking they didn't see our mutant signatures on their scanners," said Scott to Storm. Scott then ran towards the port door. "Hey you guys," he called. "We could use a little help up here." The two storm troopers below turned and made their way aboard the ship. The came aboard and saw Scott, standing there. They raised their weapons at him, and he raised his hand.

Before they knew it, their weapons were pulled from their hands by some unknown force. They're weapons floated over into the hands of Jean, who glanced at them smiling. Then, out of no where, Kurt materialized out of thin air above one of the troopers. He landed on him, knocking him out. Kitty phased through the ceiling of the ship, and delivered a kick to the base of the other soldier's neck, knocking him out as well.

A few minutes later, four storm troopers exited the Blackbird with several prisoners: Kurt, Storm, Lance and Roberto. The attendant in the booth saw the prisoners being escorted towards him. He ran to open the door and felt a rifle blast hit him in the chest. The attendant fell to the floor unconscious. The storm troopers rushed the prisoners into the room and shut the door behind them.

The storm troopers removed their helmets. In the storm trooper suits were Scott, Jean, Pietro and Kitty. Jean grabbed Lance and pushed him over to the computer. "Can you use this to figure out a way to disable their tractor beam?" she asked. Lance sat down at the console and established a link between himself and the computer, and began searching the database.

Storm walked back towards the door. "Leave the tractor beam to me. Besides, there is something else that I must attend to." Storm looked over and saw Pietro ready to accompany her. "This is something that I must attend to alone." She stepped towards Pietro. "You must get the messengers out of this system safely and rendezvous with the Rebels, no matter what. Otherwise other worlds will be destroyed, just as Albutgon was. Believe in the X-Factor, Pietro." With that she opened the door and disappeared from view as it shut behind her.

Scott turned around and found Pietro standing next to the door. "Where's Storm?" he asked.

"She went to take out the tractor beam," replied Pietro.

"Whoa! I don't believe it," said Lance. Roberto walked over and looked at the screen.

"What is it?" asked Pietro.

"Lance found the Princess! She's here!" said Roberto.

Pietro rushed over and looked at the console. "I'm going to rescue here," said Pietro. He started towards the door, and felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Hold it small fry," said Scott. "We didn't sign on for a rescue mission," he said. "Now, I think we should just wait here until Storm gets that tractor beam disabled."

"I don't care," said Pietro. "I'm going to save her. Now, are you coming or not?" Scott stood still. But Jean walked past him and stood next to Pietro. Scott scoffed at the sight of betrayal. "She's rich."

"The money is no good if I'm not alive to spend it," said Scott. Kurt and Kitty started walking towards Pietro as well.

"What's wrong, Summers," prompted Jean, "chicken?"

Scott clenched his teeth. "One of these days, Grey you're going to push me too far." Scott picked up some hand chains and tossed them to Kurt. "Put these on. We can make it up there with you as our prisoner." Kurt put the chains on his hands, while the others put the helmets on their heads.

"Uh, excuse me, Master Pietro, what do we do if the guards shoe up?" asked Roberto.

"Lock the door," answered Pietro.

"And pray they don't have blasters," added Scott as the others headed out the door, leaving the two messengers of the Princess alone in the control room.

The lift opened and the four storm troopers escorted Kurt off the lift and towards the detention center. They arrived at the desk where two guards looked up and greeted them. "Hey, we got another prisoner here. Caught him on the ship we took in a few minutes ago," said Scott.

One of the guards looked over the desk at the prisoner, however what really got his attention was how short one of the storm troopers were. "Hey, you're kinda short for to be storm trooper, aren't you?" asked one of the guards.

"Uh… well, you see…." began Kitty. She tried to come up with an explanation, but she couldn't think fast enough. The guards drew their weapons and had them trained on the Pietro and the Blackbird crew.

"All of you freeze!" said the other guard. "Get some security up here," he said turning to his friend.

Kurt took advantage of the moment of confusion and teleported out of sight. He disappeared from view and exploded into view behind the guards. He delivered a quick kick to one of the guards knocking him over the console. Scott reached down and punched the guard, knocking him out. The other guard was about to fire when Kurt reached up and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. Kitty walked over and hit the guard in the face with the butt of her rifle. "Big surprises come in small packages," said Kitty as the guard slid unconsciously to the floor.

Jean turned to Kitty, Kurt and Pietro. "Okay, start searching the cells for the Princess," she said. The three nodded and started running down the hall, looking for Princess Wanda's cell. Meanwhile, there was a chime on the intercom. Scott and Jean looked at each other for moment, and then turned their attention to the intercom. 

Scott pressed it the button, and began speaking. "Uh, hello?" he said. Jean scoffed in disbelief as Scott shrugged.

"We're detecting mutant signatures up there," said the voice over the intercom. "Is everything okay up there?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Scott. "Things couldn't be better. How about down there?"

"Who is this? What's your registry number?" said the voice again. Scott turned to Jean who shrugged. "I'm sending up a security team."

"No! Negative!" said Scott. "It's not necessary!" He looked at Jean who shook her head. Frustrated, Scott took a step back and fired and optic blast at the intercom, disabling it. "Kurt, get a move on it! We're gonna have company any second!"

Kitty ran down the hallway with her head phased through the wall. As she ran along, she looked into every cell. Eventually, she saw a young woman with long dark hair and a dress sitting in one of the cells. Kitty pulled her head out of the wall. "Hey Kurt, into this one!" she called.

Kurt disappeared in a cloud of brimstone, and reappeared inside the cell. Princess Wanda gave a small gasp at seeing him materialize out of nowhere. "Hey easy," said Kurt, "Trust me, the Fuzzy-man does not bite." He took out a small knife and cut the restraints on her straight jacket. "Hold on." Wanda wrapped her arms around Kurt, as he ported out of the cell and back into the hallway.

Pietro marveled as he saw Wanda. She looked at Pietro, and then at Kitty. "Who are you?"

"I'm Pietro Maximoff. I'm here to rescue you," said Pietro.

"Who?!" asked Wanda again.

"I'm here to rescue you," repeated Pietro. "Your messenger Lance, I found him. I'm here with Storm, the Weather Goddess."

"Storm is here?!" said Wanda.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of laser blasts flying over head. "Grey! Get that shield up!" cried Scott.

Jean used her telekinetic abilities to erect a shield that would protect them. "I can't hold it that long! You're going to have to think of something else!" said Jean.

Pietro, Kurt and Kitty were returning laser blasts with their rifles while Scott fired some optic blasts at the approaching guards. Suddenly, guards began firing from behind them. Scott and Kitty turned to fire in that direction while Kurt and Pietro held off the other guards. Jean tried to form her telekinetic shield into a telekinetic bubble, but the stress was starting to get to her. It wouldn't be long before her shield collapsed.

Wanda shook her head in disbelief. "You call this a rescue?!"

"Hey, Don Quixote over hear is the brains of the operation," said Scott pointing towards Pietro.

Princess Wanda stood on her feet, and stretched her hands out. "What the hell are you doing?" asked Scott.

"Saving our asses," replied Wanda. Suddenly, light conduits above began to explode. The rifles in the guards' hands began to fall to pieces. The panels on the wall began to tear themselves away from the wall and hurled themselves at the guards. "That's not going to hold them long. Everybody, into the garbage chute!"

Jean lowered her telekinetic shield and pulled open the chute. Kitty kneeled down first, and stared inside. "Eww," she said as she slid on in. Wanda quickly follows as does Pietro. A new batch of guards show up armed with more weapons.

Kurt stares at the opening for a moment. Jean stares at Kurt while he sits their staring into the chute. "Move your blue furry ass already!" cried Jean. She took her foot and kicked Kurt down the chute. She then turned to Scott. "You go next."

Scott looked back at her. "Go on," he said. He turned around and looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm right behind you."

Jean looked back up at him. "You better be," she said. Jean quickly slid into the chute. Scott took a few more blasts at the oncoming soldiers before diving into the chute head first. He came out at the other end of the chute, crashing into a pile of sludge. He pulled himself up and watched as the filth slid down his suit. "Oh yeah, Princess, you really know how to plan an escape."

"Hey, if it weren't for me, you'd be dead!" protested Wanda.

"Why you smug little…" began Scott.

"That's enough!" said Pietro. He turned to face Kitty and Kurt. "Do you two think you can get us out of here?"

"That wouldn't be a good idea," said Jean. "They can track our mutant signatures. By the time we all got out of here, they'd have a small army waiting for us. She turned to Kitty. "Can you contact Lance and Roberto from here?" Kitty pulled out a communicator she had. 

"Ugh!" said Kitty. She turned her communicator upside down. "The system is fried."

"I've got mine," said Pietro. "I just hope it works." Suddenly, there was a loud clunk, and the sound of gears turning. Pietro looked as the walls starting pushing closer together. "Uh-oh." Pietro put the communicator to his mouth. "Lance! Roberto! Answer me, please!"

TO BE CONTINUED…


	7. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Sacrifice

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part VII)

By

Moonchampion

Roberto and Lance heard sat in the control booth until they heard some pounding on the door. "Open up! Open up right now!" The two teens exchanged a look of concern. 

"What are we going to do now?" asked Roberto.

After a few more pounds on the door, the soldiers outside managed to knock the door open. The soldiers stormed into the room. There was no one there. The soldiers fanned out, and moved towards the closet door. They opened it and found Roberto and Lance in the closet.

"Oh thank goodness you found us," said Roberto. "Those Rebel intruders broke in and locked us in here." The soldiers looked at each other after hearing Roberto's story. Eventually, the broke off, leaving only one guard behind to secure the control booth. "I think my friend is injured. Can I take him to the infirmary?"

The remaining soldier looked at Lance and then at Roberto. "Go ahead." Lance and Roberto wasted no time leaving the control booth, and quickly getting out of sight.

The pair eventually found a data port. Lance decided to resume his search for the system to see if the tractor beam had been disabled. Suddenly, he got a bunch of screaming in his ear. "Ow!" yelled Lance.

"Lance! It's Pietro!" shouted Pietro over the communicator. "We've got a problem here!"

"What is it?" asked Lance!

"No time to explain. Just – Hey, get your tail out of my face!"

Lance and Roberto looked at each other confused. Roberto grabbed the communicator and began to speak. "Uh, Master Pietro, would you remind repeating that?"

"Shut off the garbage compactors!" screamed Pietro.

"What?" asked Roberto.

"The garbage compactors shut them off! All of them!" cried Pietro.

"You heard them, Lance. Shut them off! Hurry!"

There was a loud commotion heard on the other end of the communicator. Roberto looked at Lance. "No! You were too slow! They're dying! Listen to them cry out in pain!"

"No! We're fine, Roberto," came Pietro's voice. "Just open all the doors, now. We'll meet you back at the ship."

Roberto nodded towards Lance. Lance then used the link to the data port to open the doors. He disabled his link and started back towards the ship in the hanger. When they got there, they saw that there were several troops there guarding the Blackbird.

"We'd better wait here," said Lance. "If we take those guards out now, the entire hanger will be crawling with soldiers." Roberto nodded and the pair decided to wait until the time was right.

Scott and the others looked down from above at the Blackbird below. Wanda pushed her way forwards so that she could get a peek. "You came here in that?" mocked Wanda. "I guess you guys are braver than I thought.

"Whatever Sweet-cheeks," said Scott as he looked at Wanda annoyed. "Just move it." Suddenly, a laser blast passed over Scott's head. Instinctively, he turned around and fired at the soldiers with a laser pistol of his own. He turned to Pietro and Wanda. "Get back to the ship, we'll hold them off. And keep your powers to a minimum!"

Pietro grabbed Wanda by the hand and dashed off down the corridor. "He's very brave," said Wanda as she looked back at Scott and the others.

"Yeah, but it won't do him much good if it gets him killed," said Pietro. "Come on."

Meanwhile, Scott, Jean, Kitty and Kurt continued to return fire with their blasters. Several of their blasts landed, taking out a few of the soldiers and putting the odds in their favor. The soldiers turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Scott got to his feet and started chasing the remaining soldiers. The rest of his crew followed him. Just as Scott rounded the corner, he found himself face to face with an entire squad of armed soldiers.

Suddenly, from behind, Kitty leaped into the air and tackled Scott. As they hit the ground, they phased through the floor. Kurt slid across the floor, grabbing Jean by the waist. Once he had a good grip, they both disappeared in cloud of brimstone leaving the soldiers pondering over their disappearance.

Pietro and Wanda found themselves being chased by more soldiers. They quickly rushed into room, and closed the door. Pietro reached out and blasted the controls. They looked out and found that there was a large gap in the middle of the room, with no bridge. Pietro looked down, and saw that it would be long drop if they fell.

"We've got to get over there," said Pietro. Suddenly, blasts started to rain down from above. Pietro raised his rifle, but his shots were off.

"Let me see that," said Wanda. She took the rifle aimed carefully, and hit her target. Suddenly, even more blasts began to rain from above. "This is useless. We'll be at this forever," she said. "And pretty soon, those guys will get through this door."

Pietro swallowed hard. "Can you take care of those soldiers?" asked Pietro. Wanda nodded. She raised her hands, and the platforms that the snipers were standing on, slowly fell away. The soldiers that had been on them fell into the abyss along with the platforms. Pietro arched his eyebrow as the fell. He lifted Wanda up into his arms. She leaned over and gave him a small peck on the lips.

"For good luck," she said.

Pietro smiled. He started to race along the wall of the room. As he dashed along the walls, with his speed, he easily made it to the platform on the other side without falling. Once they were there, he sat Wanda down, and the pair rushed off to find the others and to get to the ship.

Storm entered the room quickly, and saw the reactor that powered the tractor beam. She took a few steps, and paused sensing a presence very close. For now, she chose to ignore it. The tractor beam had to be deactivated. She walked towards the reactor and heard voices coming. She quickly pulled herself out of sight as a pair of soldiers strolled past.

Once they were gone, Storm slipped back to the reactor and flipped the switch, turning the tractor beam off. She then reached around to the back, and opened the fuse panel. She reached in and pulled some of the wires out, and tossed them aside.

Storm got to her feet and walked to the next room, where she found someone there that she had been expecting to see. The large figure stepped out of the shadow, and glared at Strom. "I've been expecting you, Storm," said Magneto. Magneto moved his hand from underneath his cloak, revealing a lightsaber. He pressed the button, and a red light blade rose from the hilt. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."

Magneto swung, and purely by reflex, Storm pulled her own lightsaber out and activated it, her blue light blade clashing with his red. Storm raised her hand and blew a gust of wind at Magneto's chest. He slid across the floor, still on his feet, and brought himself to a stop. He looked up at Storm, who twirled her lightsaber in her hand. During mid-swing, she must have hit another switch, because a second blue light blade came out the other end. Magneto nodded slightly impressed. "I see you've learned a few new tricks, but I assure you that it's nothing that will save you," said Magneto. "I am not only the Master of Magnetism, but I am an Alphi Master as well."

"A title you give yourself for the sake of your ego," protested Storm. "The only things you've mastered are evil and hatred."

"Either way, weather witch," began Magneto, "you will learn a lesson here today." He charged at her twirling his lightsaber. Storm moved her staff in a fashion to counter each of his blows. However, Magneto was physically stronger than she was. And each of his blows became harder and harder to block. "Your time is at its end," he warned. Both of their weapons clashed and they pushed against each other with all their might. The crackles of energy clearly heard as they pushed against each other.

"If you strike me down now, Magneto," said Storm, "I promise you that I will become much more powerful than you can imagine."

Wanda and Pietro came dashing down the hallway. At the end of it, near the hanger they saw Scott and the others crouching down. Scott turned around to see them approaching. "Well, what kept you?" he asked.

"We ran into some of your frat brothers, what else?" snapped Wanda. Scott took a deep breath after hearing Wanda's comment.

"Is the ship okay?" asked Pietro.

"Yes," answered Jean. "We just have to get to it, and get out of here." She looked back at the others. "I hope Storm shut down that tractor beam."

"Fine," said Kurt, "but how do ve get there. I can't 'port all of you from here to there before more guards arrive."

Kitty tapped him on the shoulder. "Look!" she cried. Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. The guards had all started dashing off into one direction. "Is that our cue or what?"

"Okay everyone, move!" cried Jean. Everyone got up and started dashing towards the Blackbird. On the way towards, the Blackbird, Lance and Roberto joined the brief run. They were almost to the blackbird and up the ramp when they noticed what had distracted the guards.

"Storm?" said Pietro just as he was about to go up the ramp. His eyes fell upon Storm and Magneto as they dueled with their lightsabers. Magneto swung his lightsaber with fury, as Storm did her best to defend herself. However, she was growing wearing, and it was obvious to both Magneto and herself that victory was close at hand. Seeing the duel, Pietro began walking in that direction for a closer look.

Out of the corner of her eye, Storm saw Pietro coming closer. She turned her attention back to Magneto, delivering one more volley with her lightsaber to push her opponent back. Once Magneto was back, Storm held her lightsaber up in front of her, and lowered both of the blades. Magneto showed no mercy as he swung the fatal blow. Her clothes and lightsaber fell to the floor, her body… gone without a trace.

"No!" cried Pietro. Suddenly, the distracted guards were distracted no longer. They turned their attention towards Pietro, and fired their pulse rifles. Pietro quickly raised his own rifle and began returning fire.

"Pietro! Come on, it's too late!" cried Wanda.

"Hit the door, kid!" said Scott. Pietro still continued to fire at the guards. He then turned his attention to the control panel and blasted it. The door closed, leaving Lord Magneto and several other guards behind it. Only a few guards remained, and they continued to fire at Pietro.

__

Run Pietro! Run! Pietro heard the words. It was Storm's voice. He quickly turned and ran up the ramp. The engines of the Blackbird roared to life and flew out the hanger entrance, leaving the guards behind, blasting after the large ship with no hope of stopping them.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	8. Eve of Destruction

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Eve of Destruction

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part VIII)

By

Moonchampion

The Blackbird tore free from Asteroid M with little problem, since Storm had succeeded in disabling the tractor beam. However, the problem arose with the Imperial star cruisers that waited for them up ahead. Scott sat in the pilot's seat and glanced around at the sight before him. "Jean, take over, I'll get the weapons online."

Jean immediately took control of the Blackbird as Scott moved towards one of the weapons consoles. Pietro moved to the secondary weapons console across from Scott. "Kurt, Kitty," called Jean, "get us ready for hyper speed." Kurt and Kitty nodded and began making the necessary arrangements.

"What can we do?" asked Lance.

"You wanna help?" asked Jean. "Then, sit down and keep your mouth closed!"

The Blackbird flew through space dodging the blasts from several different star cruisers. However, those were the easy targets to avoid. The trick was to dodge the miniature fighters that had been launched. "You've gotta get rid of those fighters before we jump to hyper speed," warned Kitty.

"Just leave it to me to clear the path," said Scott.

As the first wave of fighters came in, Scott and Pietro opened fired. They only managed to take out two of the fighters, during the first attack. "Come on, kid," said Scott. "Those were my kills. If you can't put something on the board, then step aside and let someone else take a shot at it!"

On the next run, the fighters came at the Blackbird with guns blazing. Scott managed to take out another two fighters, while Pietro scored 5 kills. "I did it!" cried Pietro. "Did you see it?" he asked Scott.

"Show off," muttered Scott. "Come on, kid, let's finish this. This is the last of them." The last wave of fighters came in, Pietro got one, and Scott got the others. "Yes! It's all clear. Hyper speed now!" The star cruisers started to move in on the Blackbird, but just as they were about to open fire, the Blackbird disappeared again, safely, making the jump to hyper speed.

"Have they escaped?" asked Admiral Darkholme as she stepped into the main control room.

"They have already made the jump to hyper speed," answered Lord Magneto as he stared at the view screen before him.

"Are you sure that homing device that was planted on their ship will work?" asked Admiral Darkholme.

"Yes," answered Magneto. He turned to face Admiral Darkholme. "Your services are no longer required here, Admiral. I want you to personally report our progress to the Emperor."

"But Lord Magneto," began Darkholme.

"That is all, Admiral," he said. He turned to face Captain Daniels. "Captain Daniels will be in command of Asteroid M until you return." Admiral Darkholme looked towards Captain Daniels who was smiling broadly. Then, she turned attention back towards Lord Magneto and bowed. After that she turned and left the control room, and soon departed Asteroid M.

"Yeah, we are home free," said Scott. "How's that for a rescue?"

"You've got to be kidding?" said Wanda as she stepped up. "All the time you spent running around Asteroid M, don't you think they would have taken certain precautions?"

"What?" said Scott.

"They bugged the ship, Einstein," replied Wanda. "Didn't escaping Asteroid M, several star cruisers and a handful of fighters seem a little easy to you?"

"She may be right, Summers," said Jean. "Kurt check it out. Try to find it quick." Kurt got up from his seat and started searching the ship.

Wanda watched him as he moved out of sight. Then, she got up and sat down next to Lance. "At least you've still got the information, right?" she asked. Lance nodded. "Good," she replied.

"What's he carrying anyway?" said Scott.

"Plans for Asteroid M. Technical data so that we can find a weak spot and destroy that thing," said Wanda. "It's not over yet."

"Well, it's over for us," said Scott. "I'm not looking to fight a war, and I'm sure as hell not going to fight a war for you! The only reason I'm here is…"

"For the money!" finished Wanda. "Well, don't worry, Captain! You'll be well compensated for your services!" Wanda rose from her seat and stopped next to Pietro. "Your friend is quite the mercenary. I doubt he really cares about anything or anyone."

"I care!" said Pietro. "He moved towards the front and took a seat near Scott's. "So, Scott, what do you think of her?"

"Believe me, kid," said Scott. "I'm trying not to."

"Good," said Pietro.

A smile started to spread onto Scott's face. "Still, I don't know. Opposites do attract. "You think the Princess would go for someone like me?"

"No!" said Jean. She quickly turned and her seat and got up. As she did so, she nearly knocked Scott out of his.

"Dammit, Grey! Watch it!" said Scott as Jean left the cockpit. He shook his head, and asked Pietro, "Now what's bugging her?"

"You're safe!" said a voice. Wanda turned around to see a tall blonde man with angel wings coming towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled slightly. "We were beginning to think we'd lost you," he said. "When we heard about Albutgon and you father…."

"I'm fine, General Worthington," replied Wanda. "We'll have time to express our sorrows later. Asteroid M is tracking our current location now. Lance has the plans to the station now. We have to organize an attack to destroy Asteroid M, and we have to do it now."

General Worthington nodded. He turned to wave Lance forward, so that they could download the plans into their computer.

Captain Daniels stood in the control room next to Lord Magneto with his hands behind his back. Captain Daniels turned to face Magneto. "Sir, we are approaching the planet Haven. The Rebel base is on the moon on the far side of the planet."

"Excellent, Captain," replied Magneto. "This is the day to be long remembered. It has seen the end of Storm, and it will see the end of the Mutant Rebels as well."

TO BE CONCLUDED…


	9. Against All Odds

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

****

Against All Odds

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part IX)

By

Moonchampion

General Worthington and Princess Wanda stood at the front of the room, discussing something privately as the pilots filed into the room. Pietro eventually walked in the room, however now he was wearing a pilots uniform as well. His was different from the others. It was a black jumpsuit, which had silver lightning bolts running down the front. The others all had blue jumpsuits with 'X' patches on their shoulders.

"Well, I don't believe it," said a voice. "Pietro turned around to see a familiar face." "Bobby? Bobby Drake? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You know I've always been a pilot! I'm the field leader of this squadron," replied Bobby. "Here, I'll show you my own flight team. This is Jubilee, Ray Crisp a.k.a. Berzerker, and Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball."

Pietro looked at them. "Oh, their call signs," he said. "And what's yours?"

"Man, as cool as I am, they can't dub me anything other than Iceman," answered Bobby.

"I always thought Bighead would fit with that ego of yours," chimed Jubilee. Cannonball and Berzerker started laughing at the snide remark. Eventually, the gavel pounded against the podium at the front of the room, and General Worthington began to speak.

"Listen, we don't have much time, so I'm going to lay out the mission objectives now," said General Worthington. He stepped aside and a diagram of Asteroid M appeared on the screen. "Now, as you can see, a direct assault on Asteroid M would take too long, and we don't have that much firepower available. It's practically indestructible, except for one point." The diagram magnified to a certain grid on the picture. "Here, is the Achilles heel of Asteroid M. The target is only a meter wide, but it will be necessary to fire two pulse missiles simultaneously to destroy it."

"A meter wide!" protested Bobby. "

The targeting computers aboard your X-Wing fighters have been programmed to maximize your targeting precision."

"That shot's almost impossible to make!" said Sam.

"It's not impossible," said Pietro.

"Yeah, keep thinking that, rookie," said Ray. 

"Quickly men, to your ships," said Worthington. He noticed Jubilee didn't move and cleared her throat. "Jubilee, get to your ship too."

Jubilee frowned, but got up and followed the rest of the pilots out of the meeting room. They rushed to the hanger and started to board their ships. Pietro walked across the hanger and saw Scott say a few more words to Kitty as she turned and walked off towards the Blackbird. "Is it true, Scott?" asked Pietro. Scott turned around to face him. "You're just taking the money and leaving?"

"Yeah, kid," answered Scott. "I have some old debts to take care of. And there's always business to attend to. Besides, even if I didn't, this is suicide. Why don't you come with us, we could use a guy like you."

"Damn it, Scott," said Pietro. "These people are fighting for something… they're fighting for us. They're fighting for mutants. You're a good pilot, one of the best. They could use you"

"Pietro… this mission is suicide. End of story," said Scott.

"Yeah, whatever," said Pietro. "Take care of yourself, Scott. "You do it better than anyone else I know."

"Pietro…" said Scott. Pietro stopped and turned to face him. "Let the X-Factor guide you." Pietro stood there for awhile but turned and continued to walk away. Scott sighed and turned around to see the rest of the Blackbird crew standing there looking at him with long faces of disappointment. They all turned, and started to walk aboard the Blackbird without saying a word. Scott clapped his hands to his side in disbelief. "What is this?! Piss on Summers, day?"

Pietro walked back towards his X-Wing where he saw Wanda waiting for him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just, Scott. I thought he'd change his mind," said Pietro.

"He's got to follow his own path, just like you have to follow yours," said Wanda. Wanda reaches up, and gives Pietro a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

Pietro nodded and climbed into his X-Wing to find Lance sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "You okay back there, Lance?"

Lance shook his head. "No man. I really hate flying," he answered.

"Well, that'll change," said Pietro. He looked out of his cockpit, to see Bobby next to him giving him a "thumbs up". Pietro returned the gesture. After getting the green light, the X-Wings began to take off from the base and head for space. Pietro looked back to check on Lance.

"Ohh," moaned Lance. "I'm not feeling well. I think I'm gonna be sick, really sick." Lance put his hand over his mouth and continued to moan.

"Well, one way or another pal, this isn't going to last long," said Pietro.

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of," Lance said.

The squadron of X-Wing fighters slowly entered the blackness of space. Opposite them, and moving closer was Asteroid M. For a moment, the pilots simply gazed out at Asteroid M in amazement. It was huge, and it was obvious that this mission was going to be very difficult.

"Okay, blue team," began Bobby "you take the point position. Clear the way for us. Gold team, follow my lead cause we're headed straight for the target." There were a few more communiqués confirming the orders and others wishing everyone luck. The pilots activated their boosters, and within seconds, they found lasers dancing past their windshields as they got closer to Asteroid M.

"Holy crap! They're shootin' at us!" cried Cannonball as he veered off his vector towards Asteroid M.

"That's what they're getting paid for, Hayseed!" cried Ray as he did the same.

The X-wings regrouped and moved in for another attack run. The gold team broke off and started in towards. Jubilee moved into the point position with Cannonball and Berzerker at her wing. "I think I'm going to make it!" cried Jubilee. Suddenly, a shower of laser blasts ripped across the nose of her plane. Sparks flew from the console. "Crap! My weapons are fried!"

"Get outta there, Jubes!" said Iceman. "Berzerker, escort her back to base!"

"Aww man," said Berzerker. "I was just starting to have fun!"

"Finish the run," said Iceman.

"What?!" said Jubilee. "I told you my weapons are fried. I'm no good here!"

"Then, let Berzerker take point and Cannonball follow up," said Iceman. "We need to take as many shots at this as we can. Understood?"

After a moment's hesitation, Jubilee agreed. Her X-Wing lifted up and Berzerker's slid into her place. "Stay close Cannonball," said Berzerker. "We're almost there. Follow up my shots with your own, okay?"

"Roger," replied Cannonball. The X-Wings made their last run, luckily avoiding hits by the lasers cannons firing at them as they soared down the trench towards the weak spot. "Bombs away!" cried Cannonball as he releases his own pulse missiles right after Berzerker. The three X-Wings pulled out of the way as the missiles exploded on impact. "Did we get it?"

"Negative?" said Iceman. "Berzerker, escort Jubilee back to base. Cannonball we need you to provide cover fire for the rest of us." There were a series of explosions from below, but Asteroid M still stood. Iceman directed a few of the fighters back towards the Asteroid M, but they didn't get far before they were destroyed by the cannons on the Asteroid.

"Dammit!" shouted Iceman. "Okay, boys, this is it. Pietro, Cannonball, we're it. If we don't get it here, then it doesn't get done. Cannonball, Pietro, cover me."

"Right behind you, Iceman," said Pietro. Pietro turned around to look at Lance. "How you holding up, buddy?"

"We've been shot at, you've twirled this space bucket every way possible, and we're out of barf bags. How do you think I'm holding up?" Lance's eyes widened and he covered his mouth and started to moan.

"Glad to hear it," said Pietro. He zoomed in behind Iceman, with Cannonball at his side.

"Guys, I'm picking up some fighters coming up on our rear. Cover me," ordered Iceman. His X-Wing boosted ahead. Meanwhile, laser fire began to sprinkle around Pietro and Cannonball. Suddenly, Iceman has the target in range. He fires his pulse missiles and pulls up.

However, something strange happens. The missiles stop directly in place. The veer away from Asteroid M and detonate a few meters away. "No!" screamed Bobby. "What the hell just happened?"

Pietro's eyes widened. "Magneto. He's here," said Pietro. Suddenly, a shot hit Pietro's X-wing. Sparks flew everywhere. "Lance! Lance! What's wrong?"

"Minimal damage to the targeting array," said Lance.

"You've got to fix it!" said Iceman. "You're the only one with missiles left Pietro. It's now or never, buddy!"

"I'm on my way in," said Pietro. He took the X-Wing into a dive and headed towards the target. Iceman and Cannonball slipped into position to offer cover fire.

"Pilot's, draw those two X-Wings away from the target," ordered Lord Magneto from the cockpit of his fighter. "Leave the one in the trench to me."

"Acknowledged," said one of the Imperial pilots. They quickly moved in and laid some heavy fire on Iceman and Cannonball, until they had no choice but to break formation. Lord Magneto took this advantage of this and prepared to lock onto Pietro's X-Wing.

Pietro suddenly, felt his X-Wing rock, and there was another shower of sparks. He looked back towards Lance. "It's totally fried. The targeting array is totally fried."

_Let the X-Factor guide you Pietro._ Pietro listened to the voice. "Storm?" _Let the X-Factor guide you._ Pietro looked ahead at the target. He was approaching it hard and fast. There was no turning back. He had to take it out. Even without the targeting array.

Iceman and Cannonball led the fighters behind them away from Pietro and away from Asteroid M. The two X-Wing pilots made run for each other, with their enemies hot on their tails. Then, at the last moment, the pair pulled out of the run, causing the Imperial pilots to crash into each other.

"Yeah!" cried Cannonball. "We did it!"

"Maybe," answered Iceman. "But there's no way we'll make it back in time to give Pietro the cover he needs. That other pilot's got him targeted. It's over."

Pietro was about to fire, when he heard the alarms of the X-Wing go off. "We're targeted!" cried Lance. Pietro looked back. It was too late. He'd never get the shot off before he took a hit. Besides, Magneto would only deflect his missiles like he did Iceman's. It was truly over.

Suddenly, a series of laser blasts danced came showering down on Magneto's fighter. The laser's hit the wing, causing him to spiral way off course. Pietro's eyes searched the skies for the source, but couldn't see anything.

"Yeah!" said Scott's voice over the comm. "You're all clear kid. Now make this shot, and let's go home."

Pietro smiled as he neared the target. He took aim, not with the computer. He trusted himself. He trusted the X-Factor. Pietro fired the pulse missiles. They soared through the trench, and into the target. The missiles soared through the tubes, until they found their mark at the reactor. Once they collided, the explosion began to rip through the bowels of the station.

Pietro pulled out of the trench and away from Asteroid M. As he regrouped with the Blackbird, and the remaining X-Wings, Asteroid M exploded. The ships returned to the base on Haven's moon.

As the last remaining pilots landed, and opened their cockpits, they could hear cheers from all the Rebels within the base. The stood up waved their hands to acknowledge the cheers. Pietro climbed out of his cockpit and was met with hugs from his fellow pilots.

"Pietro! Pietro!" cried Wanda as she ran through the crowds. Pietro turned around and met her open arms. The two embraced as joyous laughter rolled from their mouths.

"Hey! Hey!" said Scott. Pietro turned around to face Scott. The two ran into each other and slapped each other on the back. Their embrace broke and Pietro moved on to Jean. Wanda wrapped her arms around Scott briefly before pulling away.

"Ja! I told you. The Fuzzy man rules at rescues!" cried Kurt. Wanda smiled and rushed to wrap her hands around Kurt. Meanwhile, Pietro had moved and was now embracing Kitty.

"I knew you'd come back," said Pietro to Scott.

"Well," said Scott, "it took some of my friends to show me what's really important." Scott turned to Jean and smiled. "To show me what should be important."

Several of the technicians were now helping Lance out of the cockpit. Pietro turned his attention to Lance. "He gonna be all right?" Pietro asked.

"He's just air sick," said Roberto. "He'll pull through. I don't even want to tell you about our trip to Mutoone." Everyone else chuckled as they wrapped their arms around each others' shoulders and marched off to celebrate.

There was a loud fanfare of horns. People were lined on either side of the walkway waving banners and cheering. The walkway led to a set of stairs. Princess Wanda, again dressed in white, stood at the top of the stairs, with Lance and Roberto at her side. As the fanfare continued, several figures began to walk out onto the walk way. From the left emerged Pietro dressed in a black jacket, white shirt dark pants and black boots. From the right came Scott and Jean, wearing the same. Scott was not wearing his visor at this time, but a pair of glasses instead. Jean had her hair pulled back and braided neatly. Behind them came Kitty and Kurt, both wearing similar out fits as well.

They marched up the stairs and stopped after reaching the top. Princess Wanda steps forward, and places a gold medallion around Scott. She repeats the ceremony with Jean, Pietro, Kitty, and finally Kurt. Kurt offers her a wink, which causes her to giggle slightly. After the medallions had been awarded, the five heroes turn around to face the public below. Cheers erupt from the crowd as they do so. Confetti begins to fall from the sky, and the fanfare continues. The entire group of heroes wave to the fans below in celebration of their victory.

THE END


End file.
